Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with windows

Windows 7 password fail

she's not there — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 17:32:48 -0800

My Windows 7 password is not working, so naturally, I'm locked out of my computer/life. If my computer worked, I would continue googling for an answer. Unfortunately, this vintage Dell desktop I'm using is trying my patience. Details: Acer netbook, windows 7, using usb keyboard (as always, since I prefer it to the netbook keyboard; anyway, for the past couple of months the netbook keyboard hasn't been working reliably). I am the only user of this computer and the only one who has had access to if for at least a week.

Situation: I left the room long enough for the computer to go to sleep. When I touched the keyboard, I got the message re unexpected shutdown (don't remember the exact words, but it's a Windows classic) and the option to restart in safe mode, etc. I selected the recommended "start normally" and everything was fine up to the Windows screen. When I entered my password (a very simple password that I use for every account not connected to anything sensitive), I got "incorrect password" and a prompt that did not match my usual log in password.

WTF part: The prompt refers to my kids. Over the years I've used a few variations of their initials and birth years as passwords. (OK, Homeland Security - knock yourself out.) I don't remember setting up an account on this computer, which I've had for 3 years, with that info - although, obviously, I must have. The point is, I certainly never log in under that password - I have full admin rights with my regular log in name/password.

What I've tried/am trying:

every variation of the kids' info that I've ever used as a password and more - I truly don't believe I could enter a password that would satisfy the system.

as I mentioned, the built-in keyboard isn't working, but I've tried using the on-screen keyboard, in addition to the usb keyboard that I usually use (and I'm using right now, so I know it works).

it's not the 'caps lock' key.

resetting the system clock to before I bought the netbook and setup the Windows password made no difference.

starting in safe mode made no difference.

currently looking into the "take ownership" link in a previous askmefi, although this appears to be a long shot.

Why this is about to drive me round the proverbial bend:

this happened about a year ago, but I don't remember how I fixed it. I've been meaning to disable the password feature ever since, but never got around to it.

from my brief google search I learned that I this situation could be easily remedied, had a created a password disk when I was able.

I'm a grown-up (and then some), so I regularly back up my data - in fact, I had done just that about 4 days ago. Unfortunately, just 2 days ago, I downloaded my website files and databases because I wanted to move everything to a cheaper host. So, worst case, I haven't lost anything, but retrieving the website info will require re-upping with former host.

Christ, what a crappy day.

Any help from you all will be greatly appreciated.

Router noob in need of help

GlassHeart — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 13:32:57 -0800

Help me make my wireless router work with my XP PC A few weeks ago I bought a laptop and, a couple days ago, bought a wireless router—a D-Link Wireless N300 Router—to allow me to be connected simultaneously to the net on both my desktop PC (which has Windows XP installed on it) and laptop.

Yesterday I connected the router to my XP machine, my primary machine, as the instructions supplied with the router said to: I put the yellow ethernet wire from my desktop PC into the LAN 1 port on the router and put the blue wire, which was supplied with the router, from the INTERNET port on my router into one of two ports in my DSL modem—the port that used to have a yellow ethernet cable in it that went into my desktop PC (the other port, labeled DSL, has a phone cord that leads to the port on the wall. That, of course, is necessary for a net connection; so I left it as it was).

The laptop came with Windows 8. After checking it—Windows 8—out for ten minutes, I knew it wasn't for me and downgraded to Windows 7. After installing Windows 7, I installed the various drivers for the laptop and, upon finishing that, noticed that Windows detected a signal coming from the router. After some tinkering, I was able to connect to the internet on the laptop. As for the Windows XP machine: It didn't seem to detect anything. I then tried setting up a net connection using various methods—without success.

I'm wondering if perhaps I need a wireless card (or whatever it's called)—which I'm quite certain I don't have installed in my XP machine—installed in my XP machine. I somehow doubt it, as the yellow ethernet cable is directly connected from the router to the desktop machine, which should allow net access. If not that, perhaps upon installing Windows XP on my desktop machine, which was sometime last year, I disabled one or more services in Administrative Tools that must be enabled in order to use a router (I tend to disable various services in Windows to gain an admittedly meager performance boost). Which services, that I may have disabled, should be enabled to make a router work?

Here's the network card and "wireless connectivity" my laptop has:

Network Card: 10/100BASE-T Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 connector)

Wireless Connectivity: 1x1 802.11a/b/g/n WLAN

This is the Network card my desktop PC has (can't find anything to do with "wireless connectivity" anywhere):

10-Base-T

(Interface: Integrated into motherboard
Technology: Realtek RTL8201E
Data transfer speeds: up to 10/100Mb/s
Transmission standards:10-Base-T Ethernet)

I was going to post all of the specs for the computers, but that would've been overkill. The amount of ram, HDD space, etc. I have won't help anyone solve my issue.

One last thing: As I said in the question title, I'm a noob when it comes to routers. Though I don't do anything I shouldn't do online, I worry that the router will allow guests who use my desktop or laptop easily view my internet browsing history. I certainly don't want guests who use them to be able to easily view what sites I've been browsing and I'm not at all interested in seeing what anyone else has been browsing. I allow guests to browse whichever sites they please as long as the sites won't get me into shit with the law or give me viruses.

Is naptha (lighter fluid) safe to clean windows?

john123357 — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 10:45:53 -0800

I have some masking tape adhesive residue on my windows. They are vinyl windows double pane with argon gas inside. I use naptha with is lighter fluid although I use the actual stuff from a paint store to remove adhesive on other stuff it works well. It is safe on plastic. What I'm wondering will it damage the stuff that holds the glass panels to the frame (I think its silicone not sure though) I dont want it to get damaged and let the argon gas leak out.

Software to monitor network activity AND which program is active?

gnossos — Wed, 22 May 2013 08:59:17 -0800

I am looking for some software (cheap, free) that will tell me which program is currently accessing the net AND how much traffic is being transferred. I have found lots of software that will tell me which port is in use, or which port is assigned to a certain program on my computer, but I can find no software that will tell me which program on my computer is currently transferring files to and from the net and the current transfer rates.

I am using Win7 on both 32 bit and 64 bit machines.

Can anyone help?

Thanks.

Gnossos

Help a longtime Mac user switch to Windows.

hwickline — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:20:45 -0800

I haven't used Windows since the year 2000, but a new job means this longtime Mac user needs to learn how to. A couple specifics related to image editing and task management software plus general words of wisdom/ encouragement requested within. In addition to the general feeling of at-seaness of starting a demanding new job, I find myself needing to learn a new OS: Windows 7, used in a large institution context, with all the Outlook, help ticketing and other systems stuff that implies. I've always been a Mac person (and in fact was the de facto IT guy for some small teams I've worked on in Mac shops), and find myself fighting decades of muscle memory and maybe even a little prejudice in this switch. So, my questions:

1. One of my first tasks is creating a set of images (photos overlaid with text, nothing too fancy really) that will live on a couple lobby computers as screen savers and be given to a retiring employee on a digital picture frame. On my Mac, I would fire up Keynote, size the slides pixelwise a couple different ways, drop some nice text with a partially opaque background text box on 'em, and call it a day. Here on my Windows 7 machine, I tried PowerPoint (sizes only in inches?), Paint (no transparency on text boxes?), and spent a whole morning banging my head against the problem with unsatisfying results. I don't know Photoshop, and can't believe I really need it to do what I want to do. What software would you use to complete this (really, terribly simple) task on a PC?

2. I'm a GTD person, and have happily used OmniFocus for the past several years to manage tasks. I'm trying out ThinkingRock right now, but it seems like more than I need (I generally just use projects/ tasks, start and due dates, and contexts) and that added complexity makes for more time-consuming data entry. Also, it's ugly. Do you have a favorite GTD app for Windows? Bonus points for iPhone syncing. Bonus bonus points for full cross platform so I can use it on my home Mac, too.

3. More generally, are there apps it took you a while to find, but now love, when switching from Mac to PC? Are there apps that have no Mac equivalent that you love on your Windows machine? Are there shortcuts (keyboard or otherwise) that you can't live without that you wish someone had told you about right away?

Any help much, much appreciated. Thanks!

Windows 7 Explorer List View, Sorted by Type, Default Keyboard Behavior

Lakmir — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:41:49 -0800

I usually navigate my Windows 7 Explorer windows via keyboard. I type the name of a directory, then hit enter to open it. But when the new directory comes up, typing finds the first filename alphabetically, which would be fine if I had my directories sorted by file name, but I do not - they're sorted by file type instead. Once a file is selected after typing the first letter, Windows's selection continues looking in the display order (first by type then alphabetically) but does not wrap to the beginning of the directory, so if I was trying to select a folder and ended up with a file, then I either have to click in the window or wait a few seconds and hit Home to get to the start of the window. How do I change this so it will initially give preference to file type and not just file names? An example. Let's say I have a directory, C:\test1\ with the following in it, sorted by file type:

Garbage1 [directory]
Junk1[directory]

Thing1.exe

Jalopy1.txt
Junk2.txt
Garbage2.txt
Thing2.txt

Garbage3.zip
Jalopy2.txt
Junk3.zip

If I have a window with C:\ open, and I arrow over to test1 and hit enter, it brings up the above in that order. According to this document Windows's focus will be on Garbage1, and indeed if I press space bar, it will select the Garbage1 directory. However, if instead I type "j" Windows will select Jalopy1.txt, *not* the Junk1 directory. If I then press J again, it'll select Junk2.txt, then Jalopy2.txt, then Junk3.zip. After that it'll refuse to locate anything, and will just beep at me. If I wanted Junk1, I'm out of luck and have to either wait a few seconds for Windows to forget that I was typing anything in the first place then hit home, or I have to click elsewhere in the window to again force Windows to forget that I was typing.

This behavior is extraordinarily annoying. Does anyone have a fix, aside from hitting the space bar every time I open a new directory?

Help me create a secondary dev environment, either Windows 7 or Ubuntu

nímwunnan — Thu, 09 May 2013 01:57:45 -0800

I'm a Mac-based webmonkey, and I need to sett up a secondary dev environment on an old Thinkpad X200. It currently runs... or rather slow-jogs Windows 7. I don't need the setup to be perfect, just something on which I can run an Apache / LAMP stack and occasional Sinatra / Rails apps without supreme annoyance. My goal is to put no more money into the software than I did the hardware ($175). This machine is for occasional light use, except for the month I'm taking it with me to Russia. So, umm, security tips would be helpful too! Thanks!

My current standards in OS X land:
Espresso
Git
MAMP
Sequel Pro
Chrome
Mou
Mountee
Cyberduck
Terminal
Textexpander
Propane
Sparrow
Jumpcut
Adobe CS5
Spotify
1Password
Adium
Harvest
Writeroom

I've checked alternativeto.net, but am curious about the opinions of Mefites.

ps I've seen this question but I assume that there will be updates in the last 5 years.

Watch YouTube videos in own window

chairish — Sun, 05 May 2013 14:03:26 -0800

I hate just watch a video - I want to be able to surf or write at the same time. So what I want to be able to do is watch YouTube and other videos in their own small window and have them stay on top of other webpages or programs.

Windows user, Firefox or Chrome.

Help me access my files!

ArmyOfKittens — Sat, 04 May 2013 05:42:36 -0800

I reinstalled Windows 7 and now I can't get at many of my old files. I changed out my motherboard and CPU this morning. Someone who will remain nameless told me I would be able to avoid reinstalling Windows by repairing my installation with the original install disc. This did not work: no matter how many times I tried it bluescreened while loading.

So now I have a fresh install of Windows 7 64. I've installed the usual apps, logged back in to all my websites, and Windows Update is humming away in the background. My problem is that many files and applications simply will not let me access them. Trying to load, for example, the SNES emulator bsnes.exe gives the following message:

"Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or file. You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item."

As far as I can tell my new Windows installation's admin account has ownership of the file, but the permissions window is a confusing mess. Any assistance would be much appreciated.

The old Windows installation is still intact on the other hard drive; I can select it on reboot, but it just bluescreens when I try to load it.

Nokia Lumia 620, Windows' Dumb Smart Phone Question

1inabillionmistake — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 07:33:19 -0800

Hi all, anyone know if: Will the Lumia 620 work with At&t's no data plan service (we could just swap sim cards?), aaand, will the phone's wifi still work for web-browsing anywhere with a signal? Thanks Everyone! I guess a little more. I'm looking for a phone for movies/mp3 but no data plan, is this my best bet? Thanks again.

Replacement for Echofon (Twitter client) on Windows desktop?

Legomancer — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 07:45:08 -0800

For a while I've been using Echofon as my Twitter client. It's got some things I don't like, but I always assumed they'd eventually get fixed. However, Echofon has discontinued support for the desktop client, opting instead to focus on mobile platforms. I'm looking for a replacement, since some features in Echofon have inexplicably stopped working and obviously won't be fixed. Anyone got suggestions on a replacement? What I like about Echofon and would like to preserve:

1) Windows desktop client. I like that it's separate from my browser, but in a pinch I would try a browser-based client again (I use Chrome but am not happy with it and that's another story.)

2) Small footprint: Tweetdeck seems to think I want a minimum of three columns; I don't. I only need one column at a time. If it's going to take up the whole screen, I may as well just use the Twitter.com page.

3) Visually identify "new" tweets. I'd like to see at once what I haven't read yet.

4) Multiple accounts. I have some alternate accounts that I don't monitor constantly but want to be able to switch to and post as from time to time.

5) Muting users and keywords. Not a dealbreaker, but it would be nice.

I've tried TweetDeck. I'm currently using Janetter, but it's got a pretty busy design and fails on point 3. I was going to try MetroTwit but apparently the free version only allows one account and also it wanted a PC reboot for a damn Twitter client, so screw that. I've tried DestroyTwitter in the past but now it wants something called AIR and while I'll do that if I must, having another thing Adobe thinks needs to be updated daily is not something I'm looking to do.

Incidentally, I only care about Twitter. I don't need it to monitor Facebook or IMs or Tumblr or Honkr or Smurb or whatever other things people are using.

I know I'm being picky and probably just need to pick something and get used to it, but I thought I'd get some suggestions first. Thanks!

Remote Desktop Connection woes

ricochet biscuit — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 08:15:10 -0800

My work computer is a laptop running Windows 7. I am working far from my office this week (as I often do) and I connect to my work server through Remote Desktop Connection. Typically this is pretty much problem-free, but for the last two or three days, when I log in to the server, I am seeing the server's desktop not as a full screen, but in a window about 10" wide on my 17.3" laptop screen. As well, while the laptop's screen has a 16:9 aspect ratio, the window looks to be 4:3. Attempting to resize the window through the Maximize/Restore Down icon avails me naught: I can mouse over the edges of the window and drag it to a new size, but it maxes out at the size that I mention, which covers maybe 60% of the screen's real estate. Numerous reboots and resets have not rectified it and I am at a loss as to how to proceed. It is not a crippling obstacle, of course, but it is an annoyance. I have not changed any settings anywhere, and the only unusual thing that happened before this began is that last weekend I was teaching a course and doing some presentations on this laptop. When I plugged in the projector's cable, the display on laptop immediately resized each time to the projector's aspect ratio, which looked to be about 4:3. Unplugging afterwards, everything went back to the regular display each time.

I have used this machine with a projector before and seen the same resizing of the display on my screen, but I have not had it hooked to a projector in several months, and after a hard drive failure this winter, a new hard drive went into the machine in February or early March. Last weekend was the first time it was used with a peripheral since then.

Note: I work for an NGO and this is a work computer, so suggestions to move to a different software package may not be helpful. Most of us work remotely and none of my coworkers are encountering this problem, so I am not in a strong position to ask everyone else to get rid of their laptops as well and go with some new approach.

Also, I am so very much not a techie guy, so explanations that patronize my understanding of this stuff are just fine. Explain it to me like I am eight.

How can I stream live television to 50-100 computers?

Bathtub Bobsled — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 20:59:30 -0800

What is an inexpensive hardware and software configuration that would allow someone to stream a handful of channels of live TV to 50-100 computers, accessing these on demand? I've been contracted by an educational institution to do an upgrade to some of their network systems. Primary project is running GigE throughout several buildings. In a conversation with the customer, he was remarking that their cable provider wants to charge them $40k/month to set up cable feeds in all of the rooms (or maybe it was $40k to install... I may have misheard). This is utterly ridiculous, since he only wants 4-5 channels available, and it will be rarely used more than 50-100 times on a given week. The only exception is presidential inaugurations, shuttle launches, or other nationally televised events they will all watch at the same time (2 times a year at the most).

As I was driving home, I thought about my home setup using TVHeadend and RasBMC/XBMC. I have a PCIE TV tuner, and it can stream my HD cable to different rooms, and we can even DVR to an external USB 3.0 SSD without issue. My wife and I can be watching multiple channels, and I can PiP on my laptop. It works very smooth and it's not a remarkably robust or expensive system. I mean, one of the clients is a Rasberry Pi.

So, I thought, how hard would it be to setup a dual-Xeon with 4 tuner cards, and use a some sort of broadcasting stream (only broadcasting those 4-5 channels, and the 1 channel during big events) that allows them to open up a client like XBMC or the already installed WMC and watch the broadcast of whatever channel they want. For the scale he's looking for, I figure VLC, MythTV, or TVHeadend, and a well configured tower should be able to do the trick for less than $4000, right? Or am I overlooking something?

Also, there is no need for the ability to pause, rewind, or record anything. Just to pull up the channel and watch, the same as you would on a regular television.

Solution for attachment-free photo downloads over email?

wavejumper — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 20:55:43 -0800

I help this sweet old lady with computer stuff. She's running Windows 7 and uses an SBC account "powered by Yahoo!" (terribly out-of-date interface). She often receives emails with family photos from her daughter-in-law's iPhone. She CAN download them, and I'm teaching her how to wade through the attachment-folders that seems to create (for virus-scanning I presume) and then copy them over to her Pictures folder, where she can organize them. However, they are often rotated incorrectly because of some iPhone - Windows issue, and they are often checked "Read-Only"... Fixing both of these things is an easy thing for -me- to do, but she's an absolute beginner and not technologically literate - and she really wants to be able to handle photos on her own. She's unwilling to turn off her Norton virus protection settings, etc. She's loathe to switch to a different email program, either, though I suspect that would be the best solution...

Anyone know the best way for an old lady to download photos over email in as few steps as possible? What's the best email program that's going to make this as easy and intuitive as possible?

I know, she should get a Mac really, or an iPad. But within Windows, what would be your solution? You gotta think like a 75 year old. It's not easy to cut-and-paste. Opening a new window is a huge concept. The difference between a browser window and a Explorer window are not at all obvious. Anyway, thanks!

Will "ipconfig /release" still allow local networking?

dinger — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 14:45:08 -0800

I need to help isolate a Windows machine from the internet, but still allow it to network with a local machine. After multiple issues with viruses, a friend has decided that he is no longer willing to allow his Windows machine to connect to the internet. He bought a new iMac and an Airport Extreme, and is quite happy.

Here's the rub: he still wants to use the PC for writing and publishing (I know...don't ask), and he wants to be able to transfer the files to and from the Mac via his LAN (specifically, via an ethernet cable from the PC to the Airport Express). In short, he wants to confine the PC to his home network, without allowing it access to the internet.

Here's the setup: new iMac, Airport Extreme, PC running XP.

Here's the question: Will "ipconfig /release" accomplish this? Every Google search yields results about PC's that are having trouble connecting to the internet; none seems to address this issue of wanting to isolate one from the internet, but still allow local access through a router.

How are locked-down file perms in Linux similiar/different to Win EFS?

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 12:39:09 -0800

I am looking into alternatives to Windows EFS to protect sensitive data on a Linux web server. I know practically nothing about EFS, but I get the impression that the files are effectively plain-text if you are logged into the Windows machine as the user who owns the files, so the same level of "encryption" exists in a Linux environment if the files have only read/write perms for file owner and no perms for anybody else. My colleague says "No, it is not the same level of security" but doesn't provide any further info regarding how/why it's different. What am I missing here? I am porting a PHP web application from Windows Server 2003 to Linux. The application accepts credit card data and we store it locally so we are bound to the requirements of a PCI Level 1 merchant. The card data is encrypted in the database and my question does not pertain that part of the process (assume everything is secure outside of the parameters below). Two times a month, we do an HTTPS POST to our credit card processor containing transaction data we want to process. This data includes credit card PANs. In the current process on the Windows server, the application gathers the data and saves it in a file in a directory that is encrypted with EFS. Eventually, after some sanity checks are run, this file is POSTed when a human clicks a link that says "send the file now" (I'm simplifying things here.) These files are deleted completely every couple of months.

So, again, my understanding is these files in the EFS-protected directory are basically unencrypted if a user logs into the server under the same account as the application that wrote the files. Is that an accurate statement? (This is IIS and I'm *really* fuzzy about who this user is.)

Back to the Linux version of the app, which by the way will be running Apache. It seems like I can just change the file permissions to something like 600 (-rw-------) and be effectively in the same place as EFS. A user logged in as apache/nobody/root can read the file in plain-text but nobody else has access to it.

The interpretation of the PCI requirements is that "the plaintext file cannot exist on disk for ANY length of time". I think that is stricter than is actually necessary for compliance, but assuming that is where we want to be... does the current EFS implementation even meet this? I definitely want to get to the right place security-wise, but if chmod 600 is effectively the same (file is plain-text to certain users, but unreadable to everyone else), I'd like to use this simple change for the first iteration of the Linux version of the application with a plan to do some proper encryption at a later iteration (or preferably POSTing the file contents without ever writing to a file).

So basically I'm asking how is the EFS implementation more secure than simply locking down the permissions in Linux? (E.g. "Well root can read the file in Linux whereas Administrator in Windows could not" or "It's impossible for *anyone* read the files IIS writes because that's not how IIS/EFS works, dumbass." [I am indeed a dumbass regarding IIS.])

I'm also interested in suggestions for alternative solutions (something like "AES-encrypt the file when writing and then decrypt it into memory when user clicks "send file now" and POST that") but that is not my primary short-term question.

What version of Windows should I get to run on a new Macbook Air - 10.8?

travis08 — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 09:36:00 -0800

I would like to be able to run windows occasionally on my Macbook Air (probably via parallels), but find all the versions of windows a bit overwhelming. What would be the simplest and cheapest setup that would allow me to run the latest version of internet explorer for testing purposes, and maybe Microsoft Publisher for the random pub file I receive? I am guessing I could get by with Windows 7? Thank You.

Help me put together a class assignment on hardening a computer

jadepearl — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 12:34:18 -0800

I want to teach students good computer security habits. I was a bit startled in class to how many students had no idea of the following:

1) securing their browser;
2) securing their computer;
3) understanding how to install and operate anti-virals;
4) changing their habits or better known as, I clicked the link and got hijacked;
5) securing their phones (android)

The students are a full age range but tend towards their 20's. I make no assumption on technical aptitude based on age, I know better than that. Articles like this and the experience of students to being vulnerable has made me realize that I need to help out the students.

I have a course that allows me to teach good media consumption and so could integrate an assignment on security for prevention and "cure". Here are my questions:

1) Would it be better to just have the students boot in safe mode and then go through Deezil and Samsara's list of software or should I do something else?
2) Would this assignment (safe boot and run anti-virals) be too difficult for students or should I just send them to an online checker, if so, which one?

I admit I am a bit muddled about this, but I am concerned since I get a fair share of infected files from students and I observe behavior that is just going to lead to unhappiness. Basically, how do I help prevent these students, who maybe your relatives, stop calling you for tech support?

Any resources or suggestions welcome.

Diagnosing poor performing Windows laptop

PercussivePaul — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 22:15:15 -0800

My Windows 7 laptop frequently goes to 100% CPU usage and becomes unusable. I've discovered that if I put it to sleep and immediately wake it up, the CPU usage goes back down to a reasonable level (10% ish) and stays that way, but this problem recurs at least daily. How can I diagnose and fix the cause of this issue? It's a Lenovo Thinkpad Edge running Win7 64 bit, about 3 years old. Intel Core i3-330M 2.13GHz, 4GB RAM, 250 GB HDD (nearly full), integrated graphics. I tend to run an admittedly heavy load, browsers with a billion tabs open, Python and Javascript applications, Word, Excel, etc... but the CPU problem seems to happen at random times, even when there is not much open. Closing applications does not seem to bring CPU usage down -- only putting it to sleep and waking it up does. Physical memory usage tends to be about 50%.

This has been going on for at least a year to a noticeable degree. I did a fresh install of Win 7 some time ago but the problem recurred soon. Nothing in task manager seems to be causing this -- when it gets sluggish, applications that normally use 1% of the CPU suddenly need 15%. Just did a virus scan and it came back clean, though maybe I should check again.

I've thought of getting more RAM and/or an SSD but given the age of this laptop I don't know if I want to throw more money at it. But I would prefer to delay replacement for another year or two and I feel like that should be possible with this hardware. Contemplating switching to Linux but I recall Ubuntu having, um, CPU utilization issues (hmm) when I tried it a few years ago, though maybe it will be better this time. Or maybe this CPU is just underpowered?

Any ideas? How do I even figure out what's wrong? I am super frustrated.

Laptop Gives Error: Operating System Not Found

Green With You — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 08:37:05 -0800

My friend's laptop runs windows 7. After resetting last night she's getting an Operating System Not Found error during boot. Assuming the hard drive hasn't completely failed, what are the best, simplest tools she can use to either fix the problem or at least get her important data off the drive? She has access to another computer with a cd/dvd burner, an 8GB USB flash drive, and blank cds. She doesn't have access to the system restore disc or anything like that. She can get a blank DVD if that's simplest. I was leaning toward Knoppix as the Linux distribution for a live dvd, but if there's an easier way I'd love to hear it. Thanks.

How can i play HD video without it horribly stuttering?

emptythought — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 17:15:58 -0800

Any HD video files i try to play stutter horribly on my new computer, and just generally play inconsistently and in a not-smooth fashion. I've tried almost everything... I have years of experience building and supporting computers, Windows/Mac(even classic!)/etc. i work in IT. I've googled the crap out of this every time i get a wild hair for weeks now, and tried almost everything i could find. Every video playing app, different codecs, VLC, using media player classic set up various ways or on the "default ffdshow" mode which some people said was the fastest for them. no dice. I've also asked every meatspace and online friend i have who would be knowledgeable about this type of thing. Lots of suggestions, nothing helped.

The computer itself is extremely fast. core i5 2500k, 8gb of fast ram, dual geforce gtx 460 1gb cards in SLI, vertex 4 ssd, etc. High end stuff. I really can't see anything being a problem there, and there's nothing else i've ever tried to do with it that it couldn't handle smoothly.

It's also worth noting that it gets even worse with higher resolution or larger files. A 1080p version of "Brave" caused it to stutter so intensely that the sound started to skip and crackle. It can usually handle SD/DVD resolution video fine, but even that sometimes stutters.

This is compounded by the fact that my several year old Mac blasts right through most, if not all of these files with absolute smoothness. And even the ones that it doesn't, it just needs 30 seconds or so to throw them in to RAM from it's slow HDD and start caching to play smoothly. So it's not related to the files.

Completely at my wits end with this, and I've basically burned google down looking for solutions. Any thoughts?

About file dates and what they mean...

kbanas — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 18:38:47 -0800

In Windows 7 or 8 (and maybe before that) if I view the properties of a document, I get all sorts of meta information. I'm interested in the Date created element and a Content created element.... I think I understand the difference, but I would like to understand it better, so I can answer a question someone has asked me about this.

Could you please explain to me how these attributes are set, and what specific actions (if any) can cause them to change?

If a document has content created and date created elements that differ, it must be because it is a copy of the original document, right? I can think of no other way that could happen.

Does Apple's window switching inside a program exist in Windows?

DynamiteToast — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 14:58:48 -0800

My job requires me to use a program in apple. I need to visually compare drafts of some of the work, and because of the nature of the work the differences are often tiny. Mac's have in-application window switching (through the command key + (1-9)) that makes this very easy. Apparently soon we're switching to windows machines. Is there any way to replicate this on windows 7? I've been looking at Autohotkey, and I could use commands like "WinMaximize" and script those to ctrl + (1-9) easily if the window's titles were ever the same, however they will vary from project to project. Any other third party ways to do this? I don't mind paying for a program if it's not too expensive, but freeware would be nice. It should be assumed that I can't get the people who've originally programmed this program to be nice and help in any way. Thanks.

what's the best way to cover my windows?

sabh — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 19:09:05 -0800

just moved into a new apartment, yay! but the windows are bare, and i would like them to be covered. no where i've been looking carries the sizes of my windows, so i think i have to order custom blinds/shades/whatever? need to cover windows in three rooms; my bedroom is the most time-sensitive, since it's hard to sleep with so much light! the living room can wait, and i should probably find a solution for baby's room before baby arrives...
so where's the best place to get custom window treatments without spending too much money?
there are no rods or any hardware installed i have not decided on blinds vs. shades vs. curtains.

Connecting from Mac OS X 10.8.2 to Windows Server SMB file shares

pombiki — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 16:56:28 -0800

I'm trying to connect a Mac running OS X 10.8.2 to an SMB share in Windows Server 2008 R2 over a site-to-site VPN but I'm having issues. A Windows XP computer that is in the same network as the Mac does not have a problem mapping a drive to the share. I followed the instructions here but got stuck at step 3 the 'Connect to Server' window. When I type in smb://SERVERNAME/Documents (where SERVERNAME is the actual server name) then click the connect button another window with a loading bar opens for a second, then it disappears and goes back to the 'Connect to Server' window. There's no error message or window asking for credentials. I tried using an IP address, the hostname, a Windows 2003 share, even a nonexistent IP address and it does the same thing.

The Mac can ping the server and when I do a port scan from the Mac it sees that port 139 is open on the server. I also tried connecting the Mac through PPTP outside of the site-to-site VPN and the same problem happens.

Oh, and when I say IP address, it is the server's internal (192.168.4.x) address. The Mac is on a different subnet (192.168.1.x) connected through the site-to-site VPN.

Unfortunately, I cannot test another Mac in the same physical location as the server because I don't have one. Also, that's another problem - I don't know how to use OS X much, so I don't know if there's a log that I should be checking for more information.